![418w1vnfA6L._SX306_BO1,204,203,200_[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/JV8RjOE.jpg "418w1vnfA6L._SX306_BO1,204,203,200_[1].jpg")
i wanted to gift my gf with a book related to physics, but not something technical like you would find on uni modules' reading lists.
I was browsing the physics section of a local library when i came across pic related.
Has anyone here on /lit/ read it already? is it any good? would it be appealing to a physics major student?
I've heard that the maths is dodgy.
>>7480560
but the author kinda says in the beginning that the math is dumbed down
>>7480564
It's not only dumbed down, but inaccurate in parts. Check the reviews on its wikipedia page for more info. I'd only recommend it to your gf is she's already a big DFW, because if she isn't, she'll probably get frustrated with his style regardless of the inacurracies.
When it comes to pop science books, there are plenty of other better choices. Some physics related ones I like: James Gleick's Genius is a great biography of Richard Feynman, Brian Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos is a great intro to cosmology, Lisa Randall's Warped Passages is a very acessible intro to string theory, and anything by Michio Kaku should be fun.
dfw was not good at math. he took philosophy-math classes instead of actual math classes and performed poorly in those too
I'd recommend Flatland or Gödel Escher Bach for a maths person, probably would be fine for physics too.
>>7481308
Seconding GEB. STEM people who also like to read tend to enjoy it even if they don't do math. If she hasn't read it, Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman would also be a good pick.
are you supposed to gift people books you haven't read?
anyways i read a large chunk of this a while back but didn't finish because i got busy. i might return to it soon. (un)coincidentally i'm reading GEB rn.
from what i've seen though, i highly doubt anything in the dfw book is inaccurate. just read a few pages and you'll see what i mean. as you would expect, it's extremely readable and much better than any other book you'll find about the same subject at the same level just because it is dfw we're talking about here and the man's got style.
>>7481302
That explains a lot. The maths in IJ are error ridden too. I've heard theories that say he did it on purpose, but I'm skeptical. What he really needed was an editor who knows more about the subject than him.
>>7481359
and the chemistry seemed a bit out there too.dont know if it was on purpose but hey made for a good read
>>7481290
>I'd only recommend it to your gf is she's already a big DFW
